Nouns

1. General Overview

Nouns are words for naming persons, things, places and animals.
In Portuguese, a noun can be either masculine or feminine in gender and singular or plural in number.
It is very important to know the gender, otherwise you will not be able to speak the language correctly. The best way to learn the gender of a noun is to memorize it with its definite article.
In general nouns ending in -o as in carro (car) or nouns referring to male persons like amigo (male friend) or animals like gato (male cat) are masculine, and nouns ending in -a as in casa (house) or nouns referring to female persons like amiga (female friend) or animals like gata (female cat) are feminine.

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2. Masculine and Feminine Nouns

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3. Masculine or Feminine Nouns

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4. Nouns used for both male or female persons and animals

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5. Masculine Nouns

In general nouns ending in -o are masculine, but there are also other endings which indicate a noun is masculine. Even though there are some exceptions, in general most of the words with these endings are masculine.

5.1. Masculine Nouns ending in -á/e/l/r/m

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5.2. Masculine Nouns of Greek origin ending in -ma

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5.3. More masculine nouns ending in -a

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6. Feminine Nouns

In general nouns ending in -a are feminine, but there are also other endings which indicate a noun is feminine.

6.1. Feminine Nouns ending in -ade/gem/ção/são/ssão/zão

Exception: o coração (heart)

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7. Plural of Nouns

Nouns can be singular or plural. Generally, you just add -s to make the plural form. However, there are also some useful rules which should be followed in order to be structurally accurate.

Exception: o/os lápis (pencil), ônibus (bus), etc.

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8. Noun Suffixes

In Portuguese there are suffixes which can change the size of a noun.

8.1. Diminutive (a form not used in English)

The diminutive is frequently used in Brazil. It is usually used to show a small version of something, but depending on the context, it is also used for emphasizing, expressing affection, irony and even in idiomatic expressions.
It is particularly used usually when one talks to small children or refers to their things.
Diminutive suffixes can also be used with adjectives and adverbs.

The most common diminutive suffixes are -inho/inha and -zinho/zinha.

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8.2. Augmentative (a form not used in English)

The augmentative is less used than the diminutive and very seldom used in the plural form. It is usually used to show a large version of something, but sometimes it can also be used for emphasizing, expressing admiration or scorn.
The most common augmentative suffixes used in colloquial Portuguese are -ão/zão and -ona/zona. Augmentative suffixes can also be used with adjectives.

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